SUE SKINNER They had already lost their pub, post office and shop - and were determined that the much-loved focal point of their community should not go the same way.

SUE SKINNER

They had already lost their pub, post office and shop - and were determined that the much-loved focal point of their community should not go the same way.

And persistence paid off as campaigners in a tiny Norfolk village took delivery of a £155,000 windfall to safeguard the future of their parish church.

The celebrations at Ten Mile Bank, near Downham Market, coincided with the launch of Inspired!, an English Heritage initiative which reveals the full extent of the threat facing our churches and sets out an action plan for tackling the problem.

It estimates the cost of repairing all of England's listed ecclesiastical buildings at £925m over the next five years - or £185m annually, which exceeds the amount raised by congregations and the grants available from English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and other sources by about £118m a year.

And research has shown that the East Anglian dioceses of Norwich, Ely, and St Edmundsbury and Ipswich have some of the highest numbers of churches in need in the country - about 20pc, which is by far the largest share of any region.

The results of the study reflect the wealth of ecclesiastical heritage in the dioceses but also their sparse populations.

Ten Mile Bank is a typical example, with just 250 on the electoral roll and extensive underpinning needed at St Mark's Church, which has had to be closed for safety reasons since Easter, 2002.

A survey revealed 95pc of the population were in favour of saving the Victorian building, but by December 2003, with grant applications having yielded nothing, parishioners were resigned to finding the money for restoration themselves.

Fund-raising had netted £25,500 by the end of last year and now the £155,000 award from the English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund repair grants scheme has paved the way for work to go ahead.

St John the Baptist Church at Harleston, which has received £161,000 towards repairs to the nave and transept roofs, is also among 65 buildings nationwide to benefit from a £7m payout.

The plan is for St Mark's to reopen for worship next year, with conservation fund committee chairman Sandra Starling cherishing hopes that she can persuade the Prince of Wales to perform the ceremony.

“The church is the root of the village,” she said. “It's like a family and we all stick together. You can do it. You've just got to be determined and you've got to fight for it.”

The rector, Father David Evans, said: “I think the real importance of the church is that it's in a village that's lost its pub, its post office and its shop.

“Apart from the school, it's the sole community feature left.”

Greg Luton, regional director for English Heritage in the east of England, said yesterday: “St Mark's fulfils a vital community role in a sparsely-populated area.

“Like many other historic churches across the country, it is in need of repairs on a scale far beyond the means of the congregation that worships there.

“The Inspired! campaign is about raising awareness of a crisis that is slowly creeping up on us and also to offer some practical ways in which all of us, from government to parishioners or interested members of the community, can help.”

A package of proposed measures includes helping congregations to help themselves by appointing historic places of worship support officers to provide expert advice, continuing the repair grants scheme and introducing other grants initiatives.

People can get involved by offering time or expertise, creating or joining a friends group, donating to one of the national charities which care for places of worship or supporting one of the 31 local county historic churches trusts.

A free copy of the Inspired! campaign booklet may be obtained from English Heritage customer services on 0870 3331181 or e-mail customers@english-heritage.org.uk.

Further information is also available on the dedicated Inspired! website at: www.english-heritage.org-.uk/inspired!